


Baby Steps

by Lucigoosey_The_Lightbringer



Series: Renegades (Steven Universe: Homeworld AU) [9]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, Beach City, Bittersweet, Catching Up, Childhood Friends, Childhood Friends Steven and Peedee, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Happy Ending, Humor, I Am My Mom Gone Wrong, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Torture, Light Angst, Memory Loss, Memory Loss Mention, Panic Attacks, Past Character Death, Past Kidnapping, Past Torture, Puppy Love, Renegades Steven Universe AU, Steven Universe AU, Steven Universe Has PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Steven and Onion Friendship, Trauma, bittersweet ending?, childhood crushes, post-IARQ, su au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:00:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26586250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lucigoosey_The_Lightbringer/pseuds/Lucigoosey_The_Lightbringer
Summary: Basically coming back from the dead - coming back from space - was going to raise some questions. Questions he had to be careful with answering, because they might not take it as well as the gems did. That being said, he was determined to get through this. He needed to get through this.| Post-IARQ (I Am Rose Quartz.)
Relationships: Amethyst & Original Gem Character(s) (Steven Universe), Amethyst & Pearl (Steven Universe), Amethyst & Pee Dee Fryman, Amethyst & Ronaldo Fryman, Amethyst & Sadie Miller, Amethyst & Steven Universe, Greg Universe & Steven Universe, Jenny Pizza & Steven Universe, Kiki Pizza & Steven Universe, Kofi Pizza & Steven Universe, Nanafua Pizza & Steven Universe, Onion & Peedee (Steven Universe), Onion & Sour Cream (Steven Universe), Onion & Steven Universe, Pearl & Original Gem Character(s) (Steven Universe), Pearl & Steven Universe, Pee Dee Fryman & Ronaldo Fryman, Pee Dee Fryman & Sadie Miller, Pee Dee Fryman & Steven Universe, Ronaldo Fryman & Steven Universe, Sadie Miller & Steven Universe, Sour Cream & Steven Universe, Steven Universe & Everyone, Steven Universe & Original Gem Character(s)
Series: Renegades (Steven Universe: Homeworld AU) [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1918204
Comments: 48
Kudos: 72





	1. Ronaldo, Peedee, Sadie

Steven followed Amethyst up the beach, making his way to the town ahead.

It was time to finally show himself off to the citizens of Beach City, to reunite with his old friends and take another, tentative step into the life he'd forgotten. Searching for more puzzle pieces, and weaving himself back into the simple, quiet town, and a simple, quiet, normal human life. Garnet and Pearl had wanted to tag along, but Steven had been a little hesitant to invite even Amethyst along with him to the city. He knew too many people would overwhelm him, but he also knew a somewhat familiar face at his side might keep him at ease. He chose Amethyst because, well… she was the only one that didn't really openly fuss over him. She worried enough to stop him if he was getting overwhelmed, but she didn't hover too much. He adored Pearl and Garnet, but he knew he was going to get enough attention out here. Basically coming back from the dead - coming back from _space_ \- was going to raise some questions. Questions he had to be careful with answering, because they might not take it as well as the gems did. That being said, he was determined to get through this. He _needed_ to get through this.

"So," Amethyst sounded rather cheerful as the hybrid fell into step with her, sweeping his gaze around as they entered the city. "Anywhere in particular you wanna head to first, Ste-man?"

"Mm…" Steven puffed his cheeks out, looking up toward the buildings ahead. He almost startled at the sight of it, how… familiar, and human it all was. Just the sight of the quiet, peaceful town he'd forgotten was enough to relax him a little. He remembered walking down the boardwalk… coming into town for food - _huh, I actually liked it back then_ \- talking to some of his friends. He remembered… ah, he remembered another kid. A boy, about his age. But he couldn't put a name to the face in his mind. "I don't know," he admitted, rolling his shoulders back slightly. "Where would I usually go? I know I used to come here for…" He paused, looking around again.

"Eh, you used to just come into town whenever you felt like it. Sometimes you'd get a snack or something from the fry shop or the Big Donut." Amethyst gestured ahead of them, and Steven paused to let his gaze fall onto the giant donut atop the building she had directed him toward. Instinctively, he couldn't bite back a grimace, and Amethyst seemed to notice, because she huffed out a laugh as she continued leading him forward. "Relax, it's not gonna like, fall off the building and into your mouth or anything. We don't have to go there if you don't want to, but I think one of your friends works there or something. The donut girl, and the jerk donut boy…" Admittedly, Steven kind of just let her voice fade out while he walked. For a moment, everything felt like static - it wasn't quite like zoning out again, he could still see, and he was moving fine. But the sounds muted, muffled like he was hearing through water. The hybrid shook his head, forcing himself to focus, and let his gaze drop to his shirt to tug it upwards and tie it silently. "Yo, maybe we could check out Funland," Amethyst was saying when Steven finally tuned back in. "Or…" The purple gem smirked, suddenly, glancing over at him. "We could get some _alcohol."_

Steven arched an eyebrow at that, looking up. "No, Amethyst." It wasn't the first time Amethyst had mentioned it, obviously, and he doubted it would be the last. It amused him, in all honesty - he didn't know what alcohol was, but he knew Amethyst was for it, and Pearl was against it.

Amethyst chuckled. "Doubt it'd work on you, anyway-"

"Is that _Steven?!"_

Steven paused, and even Amethyst stumbled, coming to an abrupt halt and snapping her gaze up in surprise. The hybrid, himself, couldn't keep himself from stepping forward almost protectively to stand beside her, tense as he swept his gaze around. It didn't take him too long to pinpoint the source of the yelling; the human running toward them looked relatively harmless, but the hybrid couldn't help but startle at the sight of him anyway. He wasn't much taller than Steven himself, but his giant, messy, yellow hair could have definitely attributed to that. Actually, the hybrid was a little confused over whether or not that _was_ hair on top of the human's head. It looked more like those fry bits Amethyst had given him, but a little longer and not… _fries_. It was definitely hair, and he could see it when the guy got closer to them, but from afar, it honestly just looked like he had giant fries on his head. Despite himself, he couldn't bite back a slight laugh.

"Oh, jeez," Amethyst groaned quietly from beside him, taking a few steps back. Steven paused and blinked, glancing over at her, then looked back toward the human curiously. He didn't recognize the guy, but the guy definitely seemed to recognize him. And Amethyst seemed to recognize him, as well, if her groan and obvious dismay was any indication. He looked excited, running up to them - only to stop, bend over, and put his hands on his knees with a gasp when he reached them. He hadn't even come from that far away - why in the stars was he sweating? The hybrid found himself stepping back, no longer amused, but confused and concerned now.

The human stayed like that for a while, catching his breath, before he straightened up again with a gasp. He was wearing something on his face, like… a visor, but smaller, with the glass only covering his eyes? They seemed to hook around his ears, at least on one side. The other side was a little lower, hanging crookedly across his face. He reached up quickly to adjust them. "Steven!" He exclaimed, taking a few steps forward with his arms stretched wide - to which Steven skipped another startled step back - but he seemed undeterred by the hybrid's retreat. "You're alive! I thought those aliens took you away to do weird experiments and probe you in weird places and probably eventually kill you, but you're alive!" He balled his hands into fists, looking even more excited. Steven exchanged a bewildered glance with Amethyst. "Do you have any cool space stories I can put on my blog?! Oh, and also, are you okay, 'cause like-"

"Hey, fry guy," Amethyst interrupted, irritated - and Steven had never been more glad for an interruption in his life. "Why don't you cool it a little, huh? Where's your dorky brother?" The purple gem demanded after a moment, leaning to the side to glance around the human.

"Uh…" 'Fry Guy' paused, only for a second, then turned away. " _Peedee!"_

Steven's shoulders jerked sharply at the name, wide eyes snapping up to the human, then back over his shoulder. That name. That was the name of the boy, connected to the face in his mind.

It only took a few seconds for the door to one of the buildings to fly open. "Ronaldo, I'm _working-"_ Steven's eyes widened slightly, watching as - sure enough - the boy he'd remembered stepped out of the building, somewhat reluctantly. He was wearing a white tank-top and shorts, and, like the taller human in front of them, he had a headful of hair that looked like fries. The hybrid just stared as the boy turned toward them, nose wrinkled, mouth opened to call out to his 'brother' - and he stared as the boy froze, blinked, and flicked his gaze past the other human abruptly, locking his eyes on Steven. The hybrid tensed, not out of alarm, but out of surprise. Peedee shared the same reaction, every muscle in his body seeming to pull taut right then.

"Steven…" The boy uttered, shocked, and took a few steps forward. Then, with a shriek, he practically launched himself forward, dashing across the boardwalk. Steven found himself walking forward instinctively to meet him, while the other human quickly jumped out of the way. Peedee threw his arms around the hybrid, squeezing his middle tightly - and Steven vaguely noted that he was definitely a lot taller than his old friend than he used to be. But at the moment, he didn't care; he simply wrapped his arms around the other boy, a smile finally crossing his face. Yeah, he remembered Peedee. He'd known Peedee since… stars, he didn't even know. "Dude!" Peedee abruptly pushed him back, and the hybrid stumbled slightly in surprise, but he righted himself quickly. "You're alive-! And- holy _crap_ , _Steven_ , how did you get so freaking tall-!"

Despite himself, Steven snorted out a laugh. "I have no idea," he admitted excitedly, flicking his gaze over his old friend's face. He found his smile widening even more, absolutely ecstatic. Now, this was someone he was definitely excited to see. Someone he, admittedly, hadn't made as much time for as he should have in the past… had he? He couldn't remember spending that much time with him as the years went on, as he slowly became more and more invested in gem stuff than human stuff. That, he decided silently, was something he definitely had to fix now.

"Okay, yeah, reunion, great," the other human - Ronaldo - began, and Steven paused, flicking his gaze to the side and turning his head to focus on him as he brushed himself off and walked forward again, despite Amethyst's irritated protests, now that he seemed to have recovered from almost being squished in between two overexcited teenage boys. "Steven's back, yay, he's alive, we know, that's all great, really, you missed each other- really, do you have any space stories? Because I totally need more material for my blog, and I'm gonna need a lot more information if I'm gonna be able to warn Beach City about those aliens that keep coming-"

"Ronaldo," Peedee hissed.

Steven offered the human a perplexed look. "What's a 'blog'?"

At this, both of the humans paused to stare at the hybrid now, and Amethyst let out a quiet groan and shoved past Ronaldo, causing the human to stagger slightly. "So much for trying to start small, am I right?" She turned her gaze to the other two, lifting her arms and offering an admittedly half-hearted shrug in their directions. "Basically, Steven's memories are wacky."

"Wacky?" Peedee echoed, a concerned look quickly flitting across his face as he glanced up at Steven again, and the hybrid barely had time to open his mouth to try and explain that better.

"Oh my God," Ronaldo gasped, reaching up to grip his hair. Steven watched, with increasing concern, as the human started tugging, staring down at him with a mixture of horror and astonishment written across his face. "He has _space amnesia!"_ Before Amethyst could open her mouth to object, and before Steven had a proper chance to back away from the human, he suddenly rushed forward and leaned in to grab the hybrid by the shoulders. Steven yelped, shoulders tensing at once under his grip, and it took just about all of his self-control not to shove the human back and slam him to the ground, fighting against every bit of his battle training as Ronaldo offered a rather rough shake to the hybrid's shoulders. "Steven! Do you remember me?! Do you remember all the theories I told you about the Great Diamond Authority?!"

Steven didn't have a proper chance to _gently_ brush the human's hands off of him and explain carefully that he, indeed, did not remember the poor human at all, not when he finally registered the words. Amethyst visibly tensed from behind Ronaldo, and Steven slowly flicked his gaze past the human to stare at her, and then looked back up at the human, startled. "You know about the Great Diamond Authority?" He asked slowly, blinking. The fact that Connie knew _some_ things about the Diamonds didn't surprise him, as she was part of the Crystal Gems herself, but even her knowledge was limited, at best. So how did this human know about _them?_

He frowned a little to himself, but Ronaldo looked pleased as he finally pulled back, and Steven took a few stumbling steps away from him to somewhat recompose himself. He didn't mind physical contact for the most part - as touch starved as the poor kid was, he absolutely adored it. But this guy was a little too much, and this wasn't the kind of physical contact that he liked. Affection was fine, but this guy was definitely not showing affection. "Yeah! It's like, so totally obvious that the Diamonds are the rulers of the extraterrestrial species of sentient light force created by the stars and tasked with the duty of colonizing the galaxy for their own resources," Ronaldo retorted, reaching up to adjust the tiny visor-like object on his face. Steven just narrowed his eyes, still more or less perplexed than anything, while Ronaldo went on, "see, my theory is that they were trying to destroy the Earth with a sentient polymorphic geo-weapon. But that didn't work," he lowered his voice, and Steven stared, puzzled, as he continued, "but they're not finished yet, Steven. The last invasion and your kidnapping just proved that the Great Diamond Authority is still out there, and now they're more determined than ever to destroy the-"

"Hey, Ronaldo," Peedee called, and Ronaldo paused, looking up. Steven continued to stare at him, still bewildered. This human was… interesting. He seemed to know _some_ things at least. His 'theories' weren't exactly wrong, and he had the whole 'rulers of an extraterrestrial species' thing down completely, but the hybrid was still baffled. Again, it wasn't like the Diamonds were exactly common knowledge here on Earth, but gems were. He wasn't sure what to make of this human, and the information he was rapidly spitting at him. "Don't you have this written down?"

"Oh! Ohhhh!" Ronaldo shrieked, and Steven winced. "Yeah! Steven! Stay right there!" The human was already running off before the hybrid had a chance to respond. He stopped with his mouth half-open, blinking as he watched the human go. That interaction had undoubtedly been the weirdest one he'd had since he got back to Earth. He had a feeling it wouldn't be the last.

"Let's get outta here," Peedee urged, stepping toward Steven. "Before he gets back."

Steven shook his head, baffled. "Fine by me…"

"Hey," Amethyst hummed, nudging her shoulder against the hybrid's, and jerked her head toward the building with the giant donut on the top. "You don't gotta eat, but it's a hiding place." While the hybrid hesitated, Amethyst threw an arm around him, and Steven couldn't help but giggle despite himself as the purple gem lifted a hand to ruffle his hair, ducking his head instinctively without quite pulling away from her. After a moment, he gave in, chuckling quietly.

"Alright, okay," he agreed, and the purple Quartz pulled away from him with a victorious 'whoop!' and took off toward the building ahead. Steven took the chance to stretch and compose himself again, lightly running his fingers through his hair to fix it. Peedee walked forward to stand beside him again, and the hybrid glanced up to offer his old friend a small smile. A perplexed expression crossed the other boy's face, worried, once again, as he flicked his gaze over Steven's face carefully. He stayed still for a moment, letting his old friend continue his quiet assessment, before finally straightening up and walking forward to follow Amethyst again. Peedee fell into step with him quickly, still seeming worried as he continued to study the hybrid.

"Are you, uh… okay?" He asked suddenly, and Steven paused a few feet away from the door, just out of arm's reach. Amethyst had already retreated inside, and it looked like she was speaking to someone else on the other side of a counter; the hybrid watched for a moment, then turned back to Peedee again, offering the other boy the most reassuring smile he could muster. It didn't do much to reassure his old friend. "I mean, like- you're having memory problems? Do you remember me? Or…?" He gestured vaguely around them. Steven got the hint quickly.

"I remember you," the hybrid assured quickly, offering another smile. "And I'm remembering some things, I think. Uh…" He trailed off, smile wavering for a second as he glanced around. "Mostly, it's coming back pretty slow, but experiencing certain things helps a little more."

Peedee stared at him for a moment. "... what did they do to you?"

Steven paused, finally flicking his gaze back over to his old friend. Those words were familiar. He'd been asked that before, for certain. And, he figured, he had felt just as much uncertainty then as he was feeling now. Uncertainty, but no hesitance, no anger. He didn't want to hide the things he went through, he didn't want to keep secrets - but he also didn't want to dump more on this human than he thought he'd be able to handle. He remembered Peedee had never had anything to do with gem stuff, and he didn't want to be the one to bring him into all of that now.

He supposed, after a moment of hesitation, if Peedee wanted a specific answer, he would ask more specific questions. So he'd answer as simply as he could for now, and just go with that. "Alot," he admitted quietly after a few seconds, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "But I'm okay, honest. I'm getting memories back, I'm fine." The hybrid shook his head slightly. It took a few more seconds, hesitating, before he could force himself to cross forward and reach out to open the door. Peedee stepped after him, looking even more concerned by the answer, but he wasn't asking any more questions right then, and Steven wasn't about to complain. Again, he didn't mind answering any questions, but that was provided that Peedee actually wanted the answers to begin with. The hybrid fell silent, pulling the door open, and winced.

A familiar, musical chime echoed above his head as he pulled the door open, nearly prompting him to lose his grip and let it swing shut again. Honestly, the sound left him dizzier than it should have; for a second, everything seemed to shut down all at once. Sight, sound, smell; all of it. And then, just as quickly, it was back - and he found himself dead center in the middle of the building with Peedee up ahead at the counter now, as if he'd somehow skipped forward in time.

He shook his head slightly, taking a moment to recover. At that point, the human Amethyst had been talking to had noticed him, and it didn't take him long to recognize her as she suddenly stepped out from behind the counter. Like with Peedee, Amethyst seemed content in letting the human approach Steven - choosing instead to jump over the counter to the cases of donuts - while the human approached the hybrid oddly cautiously, looking concerned and excited, but somewhat wary, of all things. Again, he recognized her quickly, but he found himself unable to connect a name to her face right then. He knew she was one of his friends… his memories of her often involved memories of another boy, a teenager he also recognized, but couldn't name.

"Steven…" The human paused in front of him, seeming to falter a little once she'd gotten a good look at him. He was taller than she was; like with Connie, it felt _off_. "I- I can't believe it, you're…"

Steven offered a hesitant smile, still struggling to remember her name. But he didn't move back when she stepped forward to hug him, accepting the affection happily. He couldn't help but giggle as she squeezed him, even while feeling her hands press against the scars on his back. That was familiar, he thought. That was how she'd always hugged him… well, maybe a little softer and gentler now, but definitely still as warm and affectionate. Her caution surprised him, somewhat; everyone else so far had been more than eager to throw themselves at him. And while he didn't particularly mind that, the gentleness was definitely a very welcome change.

The hybrid offered a squeeze of his own before pulling back, and the human offered him a warm, somewhat relieved smile. And, finally, it clicked; the name clicked into place, another puzzle piece he'd been missing. Sadie. Her name was Sadie, and she was his friend. "Amethyst… told me you were back a few days ago." The human glanced over her shoulder, pausing for a second. "But, uh, she said you were having some memory problems, so…"

"Yeah…" Steven trailed off, offering a small smile. "Things are kinda coming back kinda slowly, but I think I'll be alright eventually. Just filling in the blanks." He paused, taking a deep breath, and leaned himself back on his feet a little before settling again. "It's good to see you, Sadie."

"You too," Sadie replied warmly. She opened her mouth slightly, but hesitated; Steven furrowed his eyebrows, watching as the human struggled to compose herself again, to put her thoughts back in order. And he waited patiently, watching Amethyst pass donuts across the counter to a nervous-looking Peedee, until the human finally spoke again. "I, uh… I don't know if…" Sadie trailed off, hesitating a little more, and Steven glanced down at her again. "Do you… know what happened to Lars?" She finally asked, looking up at him. "He was still on the ship when you…"

Steven paused, staring at her. Lars… that was the name of the other boy. The teenager that he remembered was usually with Sadie, here in the store. He had been on the ship, and on Homeworld; they'd been trying to escape, they found a group of gems, Lars had died… but… but he wasn't dead, was he? No, Steven had spoken to him after that. Only he was pink, and he looked a lot different, and he had scars, and he had a sword. He'd spoken to him during the battle, after he'd poofed Angel Quartz. Another piece clicked into place, another gap in his mind filled. It was still fuzzy, but he remembered. He remembered fighting him, he remembered telling him to just go back to Earth. Lars had stayed behind to try and rescue him, only Steven hadn't wanted to be rescued at the time. He'd wanted to stay, and try to fix Homeworld instead.

"I told him to come back here…" The hybrid whispered, furrowing his eyebrows. Sadie blinked at him, seeming to tense up slightly as he spoke, and Steven added quickly, "he… we… we were fighting. We were in the battle- he was with the rebels, and… and he was trying to take me back. He had a ship, but-" Steven paused, sucking in a shaky breath, and shook his head a bit. "But I told him to come back here…"

Sadie stared at him, startled. "Battle- rebels-? Lars was…?"

Steven hesitated for a second, glancing away from her to look back toward the other two briefly. "Lars is… different," he finally mumbled, swallowing and glancing back down at Sadie again. "Back on Homeworld, he… we had some trouble, and- and he died, kind of, and then I brought him back to life with my tears and he turned pink- stars, it's a long story. But he's- he's alive," he added quickly, as Sadie's expression quickly flitted between mixtures of confusion, horror and shock as she stared at the hybrid. "At least, he was the last time I saw him. I told him to come back to Earth, and he left on the ship so I'd figured maybe he…" The hybrid hesitated, frowning.

Sadie seemed to falter, looking even more confused now. "I… wow…" She trailed off, glancing away for a moment. Her expression had shifted when she turned back to him, concern replacing the bewilderment and horror that had been there. "Sounds like you've been through a lot."

"Yeah…" Steven trailed off, shifting his feet slightly. He offered her a reassuring smile after a moment, but he wasn't sure how convincing it was. "I don't know. Maybe he's on his way."

"Maybe," Sadie echoed. After a moment, she abruptly seemed to realize something, stepping back and turning to gesture toward the counter. Amethyst had the sense to stop before the human could see her shoving donuts into bags, hiding them behind the counter before Sadie could see. Peedee, meanwhile, was busy sifting through his wallet, looking somewhat panicked. "D'you want a donut or something? A few of your favorites just finished baking, I think."

"Ah." Steven cracked a hesitant smile. "I don't really… like donuts anymore."

"What." Peedee's voice was flat, but his expression was nothing short of shocked as he looked up at the other boy. Steven offered a small shrug. "Wait a sec, how- why don't you like donuts?"

"Flavor." Steven shook his head, gesturing toward the many donuts still left in the containers. All things considered, Amethyst hadn't gone too all-out with the ones she'd practically stolen, but he figured Sadie wasn't going to be too happy about it regardless. "It's all really weird, I guess. Tasting things is just… different. I mean, it's not like there was anything to eat on Homeworld…" He trailed off, offering another shrug and picking at the knot he'd tied in his shirt. "So now anything with taste is just kind of pushing it. It's overwhelming. Donuts especially, they're too… sweet for me. I don't like fry bits either, so." He glanced at Peedee, somewhat apologetically.

"Pearl's gonna try and get him on a fruit diet," Amethyst cut in, when neither of the humans seemed to be able to think of anything to say, just staring at the hybrid in absolute surprise. "Or something like that. Stuff with less flavor, y'know. Like apples, salads… basically rabbit food." After a moment, the purple gem stretched her arms down to wrap them around the bags she'd hidden behind the counter, lifting them up to put them on top instead. "I got two of everything."

Sadie glanced back at her, rolling her eyes. "You always get two of everything."

"You're right." Amethyst paused. "I bet I could amp it up to three."

"I'll have to start charging you for that," Sadie warned. Amethyst's face split into a grin, snickering, while Peedee ended up sliding his entire wallet onto the counter, looking flustered. "Hey, uh- I don't think we've met," Sadie said suddenly, looking over at Peedee curiously.

"Which is weird, since your shops are literally on the same block," Amethyst commented before Peedee could respond, the boy looking a little more flustered than he had been before now. "And considering he's been Steven's best friends since, like, he was in diapers or something." Steven couldn't help but laugh at this, and even Peedee managed to crack a small smile at that.

"I'm Peedee." The teenager offered a nervous wave. "Peedee Fryman. It's nice to meet you."

"Sadie Miller," Sadie replied with a smile. "You too."

Steven smiled a little to himself, watching them for a moment. Sadie eventually retreated back to the counter to stop Amethyst from grabbing a third of everything as the gem had promised, and Steven took to the window for a bit, looking out at the boardwalk. Admittedly, he felt a little bit guilty when he saw Ronaldo outside looking around for them, but it didn't quite prevent him from ducking out of sight when the human turned toward them. Maybe eventually, the hybrid would brave himself enough to face him again, but right then, he was almost… spooked by him. Not really scared, just kind of startled. Intrigued, of course, but his interest and curiosity could wait until he was at a point where the guy didn't overwhelm him so much; he knew it wouldn't be good for anyone if he got too stressed and ended up having some kind of emotional breakdown. Once Ronaldo had retreated back to the fry shop, Steven leaned against the window again and stared outside, leaning his head against the glass and admiring the town from where he was.

He glanced over when Peedee walked up to stand beside him, offering his friend a small smile and pushing himself away from the window slightly. Briefly, he glanced over his shoulder to see what Amethyst and Sadie were up to; at the moment, they were just talking and laughing together, the purple gem seated on the counter and the human leaning against it with a smile. Honestly, Amethyst looked happier then than Steven thought she had since Peridot had poofed. At the very least, she seemed content and relaxed, distracted from her worry for the time being. The hybrid smiled to himself, while Peedee leaned forward beside him, peering out the window. "So you really don't like food anymore, huh?" His friend asked suddenly, and Steven paused.

"I guess not." Steven shrugged, glancing back over at the other teenager and offering a hesitant, half-smile. "It's just a little weird for me now, I guess. It's not like I really need to…" The hybrid gestured at nothing in particular, briefly letting his hand press against the window. He looked up toward it again, glancing out toward the boardwalk, and let out a quiet sigh as he leaned back on his feed and shrugged again. "Not to survive, anyway. I guess in terms of… basic health and strength. And I haven't been zoning out like I was before, when-" He barely managed to stop himself in time, catching the concerned expression on his old friend's face. Again, he hesitated, staring at the other boy for a moment, then ducked his head and looked away again, lightly rolling his shoulders back and running his tongue over his lips with a frown. "Sorry." Leaning his forehead against the glass, the hybrid huffed out a quiet, nervous chuckle. "It's just gem stuff. You don't have to worry about it or anything like that, I'll be okay."

"I…" Peedee faltered slightly, and Steven glanced over in time to see his shoulders sag. Instead of continuing, his friend just shook his head after a second with a somewhat uncomfortable expression on his face, and ended up changing the subject. "So what are you doing tonight?"

Steven blinked, studying him. "Uh… probably sleeping?"

At this, his friend huffed out a laugh. But the uncomfortable expression quickly fizzled away, replaced with something akin to amusement. There was also relief there, and he could see that clearly; nothing but absolute, pure relief flickering through his eyes, if only for a few seconds. "No, I mean…" Peedee chuckled again. "If you're not busy, maybe we can… catch up, or…"

"Oh!" Steven couldn't bite back a smile at that, nor did he try to; he turned to face his friend after a second, leaning sideways against the window instead. "Hey, yeah, that sounds kinda fun. Maybe you-" He paused for a second, rethinking what he was about to say. If there weren't so many gems staying at the beach house now, he'd have invited Peedee over. And if he wasn't avoiding Ronaldo right then, he'd have suggested maybe going over to his friend's instead. Neither of those seemed like particularly good ideas at the time; he wanted to keep Peedee out of the gem stuff, and he definitely didn't want to interact with Ronaldo again, not so soon. The hybrid paused, sinking sideways again, and twisted his mouth slightly as he thought. Catching up with Peedee sounded fun, but he wasn't sure what they could do around the city at night, since 'sleepovers' were pretty much out of the question. "... whaddya think we should do?"

"We could just go for a walk down the boardwalk," Peedee suggested, looking contemplative. Steven brightened slightly at that, and Peedee chuckled. "Been a while since we've done that."

"Yeah," Steven agreed, letting out a quiet laugh. "That'd be fun. I gotta check with the gems, but…" He figured Pearl would be willing to let him out for one night, as long as he wasn't out too late and still went to sleep. One night out of the house and catching up with his friend wouldn't hurt - if anything, Steven thought it would be the break from all the planning and stressing and worrying that he really needed right then more than anything. "Catching up sounds really nice," the hybrid sighed, sinking back against the window. "I missed you a lot. I missed everyone."

"Yeah…" Peedee trailed off. "I missed you, too." After a pause, he chuckled, "still too bad about the food thing, though. I kinda miss you stopping by the shop and begging for 'the bits'." He rolled his eyes, and Steven couldn't help but laugh a little at that. "Ordering off-menu…"

"I can still stop by and beg for the bits," Steven conceded. "I'll just give them to Amethyst."

Peedee snickered. "That'll work." He looked out the window again, while Steven grinned and tilted his head back, letting his eyes slip shut for a second. "So, what're you gonna do about the rest of the town? I'll bet everyone's gonna want, like, some kind of 'welcome home' party," Peedee joked, and Steven giggled despite himself. He didn't know if he could handle _that_ just yet, but the thought was still amusing regardless. Right then, he just wanted to take things slow. He knew too much too fast would just overwhelm him - he found it hard not feeling overwhelmed already as it was - so throwing himself at a bunch of people probably wasn't the best idea now. Baby steps, the hybrid decided, was probably his best bet for the time being. Taking it slow.

"Baby steps," Steven murmured, opening his eyes again. "The town'll still be here when I'm ready to face everyone again." He paused, glancing out the window, and heaved out a sigh. "And I'm not going anywhere, either…" He trailed off, biting the inside of his cheek. "Not yet."

 _I hope so, anyway._ He stared, watching one of the white, flying creatures dive down from the sky to grab a bunch of fries someone had discarded on the boardwalk. _I'm not ready for_ _ **that.**_


	2. Onion

"Are you sure you're alright to go out, Steven?" Pearl fussed as Steven, with careful precision, busied himself with pouring milk into an empty water bottle. He'd come to enjoy the taste of milk in particular - not as bland as water but not exactly overwhelming in the taste department either. It was just right. "You don't want anyone to go with you?" Pearl continued, folding her hands together in front of her nervously and pressing her knuckles against her mouth. Steven looked up, briefly, but snapped his gaze back down to check the bottle again, stopping when he saw the milk rising just above the little blue label and pulling the milk jug upright carefully. Perfect. Triumphant, and more than a little proud of himself, he turned to put the caps back on both.

"I'll be okay, Mom. We're just going around the boardwalk," Steven replied, but he did pause for a moment, poking his lower lip out and furrowing his eyebrows in a contemplative look. "But…"

Pearl didn't sound comforted in the slightest. "What?"

"Just thinking." Steven frowned, putting the milk jug back in the fridge. His gaze lingered on Peridot's gem for a moment, his thoughts briefly screeching to a halt before he managed to shake himself and turn away again. "I'll have my weapon just in case anything happens… but I don't have a way to contact…" He trailed off again, somewhat zoning out - but not completely. He was just aware enough to see Pearl's expression shift, her eyes widening at the realization.

"Oh! I almost forgot." She reached up, gem glowing, to summon something from it. Steven passed the bottle from one hand to the other, rolling his shoulders back and watching as a cellphone shimmered to view in the palm of her hand. He recognized the object, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't somewhat fascinated. Homeworld technology was interesting, and getting used to Earth technology again was proving to be just as intriguing. For instance, Amethyst had just started showing him television and video games again, and he and Berry both were curious by the differences and similarities in Homeworld and Earth technology.

"You can contact us with this," Pearl told him, but she didn't give him the phone yet, typing something in. "I'll put Greg and Amethyst's 'numbers' in. All you have to do is tap one their-"

"I know," Steven assured her with a smile. "I remember."

Pearl looked up, a pleased expression crossing her face, worry diminishing. "Good." She hesitated for a moment longer, and he understood why; his smile softened, just a little bit, and when she finally held the phone out, he took it carefully with a reassuring smile. "Be careful, okay?" She folded her hands together again, her anxious expression returning. Steven nodded.

"Come on, P," Amethyst called from the couch, locked in a video game war with Tangerine. Steven glanced over and grinned briefly before looking down to tuck the phone away, while Pearl turned to fix the purple gem with a disapproving yet fond look. "Don't mother hen him too much. He'll be fine. The boardwalk is like, right there." After a moment, however, Amethyst's hands stilled against the controller - Tangerine let out a triumphant shriek after a few seconds - and the smaller, purple Quartz suddenly looked less confident and equally as anxious as Pearl.

"And," Steven chided softly as he made his way to the counter, putting the bottle down and crossing his arms over it. "I can protect myself. My-" He stopped, an irritated sigh bubbling in his chest. He swallowed it down quickly, and struggled to ignore the bitter taste that still lingered. "Blue Diamond wouldn't come here herself just for me. Not yet. Not with Homeworld at battle." He paused, looking down and crossing one arm over the other, curling his fingers downwards a little to pick at his skin lightly before he continued, "and I can handle any soldiers they send, if they can even afford to send any at all. We don't have anything to worry about. Not right now." He glanced up, looking between their uncertain faces. "But if you really want to, Amethyst can-"

"No, no, you're right," Amethyst interrupted quickly, and while she did sigh, she still offered Steven a half-smile, genuine and warm. "Just a walk around the boardwalk with your friend. You deserve some time to yourselves, just go out and be a kid." She raised a hand, gesturing to the door, and Steven tugged his lips into a small smile as he looked over. Pearl sighed, but smiled and reached over to rest a hand over Steven's head; he leaned into the touch, closing his eyes.

"Alright. Have fun. And don't stay out too late!"

"Hurry up before your dad gets back," Amethyst called, chuckling. "He'll _make_ you take me."

Steven laughed, pulling away from Pearl and grabbing the bottle again as he stepped around the counter and made his way to the door. Tangerine reclined back on the couch, grinning and propping her legs up on the coffee table beside the TV, and shot him a smirk. "Don't die."

"Hilarious," Steven told her, opening the door. "I'll do my best." He waved a quick goodbye before he left, pausing to look up at the sky - and survey the stars intently - before he looked back down and headed down the stairs. It was a slow walk to the town, and while he didn't exactly take his time, he also wasn't in too much of a rush. It felt nice at night, on the beach. It was cooler at night than it was during the day, but he still tied his shirt up just above his gem. For the most part, he kept his gaze downwards. But he looked up, mid-sip, when he finally reached the boardwalk, and grinned to himself when he saw Peedee up ahead, watching the water. He turned just as Steven opened his mouth to call out a warm greeting. "Hey, fry boy."

Peedee greeted him with a grin as he turned. "Hey, gem boy."

"It's nice tonight," Steven commented, slowing once he reached Peedee. He looked back up at the stars, twisting the cap back onto his bottle. "I'll never get used to the stars. They're so beautiful from Earth," he murmured, keeping his gaze upwards for a moment before turning away. Peedee only smiled at him, but there was something in his eyes, something sadder, something worried, and concerned. Something Steven was far too used to seeing lately.

After a moment, however, it morphed into something more curious. Peedee tilted his head, looking up toward the sky for a moment, then glanced back over at Steven. "Can I ask you something?" The hybrid inclined his head, a brief nod. "What are they like out there? Up close?"

Steven, more curious than surprised, had to think about that for a second. He had never really stopped to appreciate the beauty of the stars from up close, from a ship. Understandable, of course, but a little disappointing now that he thought about it. "Well, they're beautiful," he finally replied, looking upwards again. "On the way here, we flew past a batch of them," he recalled, a small smile tugging at his lips. He'd been too angry at the time to completely admire them, but the memory soothed some of the disappointment in his chest. "They're just so bright. So _pretty_. Personally, though, space wise, I prefer looking at other planets." He circled around Peedee to continue down the boardwalk, and Peedee turned to walk after him, falling into step with him.

"You were on another planet, right?"

"Yeah, Homeworld. Where the gems are from," Steven replied, and paused, inclining his head a bit more as he thought about that. "Most of them, anyway. That's where I've been since…" He didn't finish, didn't need to. Peedee hadn't been there that night, but he saw his expression shift. It was an easy guess that he'd heard the story already, from one of the people who'd seen it.

Peedee hesitated. "What was it like?"

"Beautiful," Steven replied immediately. Then he added, quieter, "and cold."

Peedee only nodded, looking uneasy. Steven could see it on his face; he didn't know how to feel about the situation, what to do and how to react. Connie was the same way sometimes - it was a rare thing, but it happened, and it was only a reminder that Connie was so… _painfully_ human. With Peedee, he didn't need that reminder. He'd never needed that reminder, because Peedee had always kind of edged around all the gem stuff; Steven remembered that. The Frybo thing. All of it. While Ronaldo liked to immerse himself in the weird things around Beach City, Peedee was more than happy to ignore whatever seemed to be going on. But now he couldn't ignore it. Steven couldn't help but feel a little guilty for that, though he knew that he shouldn't.

After a moment, he decided some things were just better left unsaid, some stories better left untold. "Anyway," he started lightly, and Peedee glanced over at him. "How have you been?"

"Eh…" Peedee smiled slightly, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Coping?" He sighed, tucking his hands in his pockets and looking down at the boardwalk for a few moments. "Man, I dunno. Town's been pretty quiet recently. I've just kind of been moving along, just… working." He paused for a moment, looking up toward the buildings ahead. Steven followed his gaze, but his eyes trailed a little further to focus on the stars again before he could stop himself. "It's like everything just kind of hit pause, y'know? Like the world was standing still after you left. Everything stayed the same, exactly how you left it - but it was different."

Steven ducked his head a little, rolling his shoulders back, but he couldn't fight back a smile in time as he thought the words over to himself. He shook his head, sighing. "I get it," he murmured. Then he leaned over, lightly nudging his shoulder against Peedee's. "I'm back _now_."

"Yeah." Peedee chuckled, nudging him back. "Now the world can keep moving."

Steven laughed, lifting his head a little to grin over at him as he walked, and Peedee tilted his head back at him with an amused smile on his face. The human was… fascinating right then, innocent, gentle features schooled into something a little more mischievous, and Steven wasn't sure whether the glint in his eyes was simply a reflection of the lights from the street lamps and the stars or whether they were just made that way, whether they just naturally sparkled like that. Whatever the case, it made _something_ flare up, something warm and exciting and breathtaking. Something _nauseating_ , but in a weird way, intoxicating. And Steven just couldn't help but stare.

If Peedee noticed, he didn't say anything about it. Just ducked his head, his hair briefly covering his face much to Steven's dismay. But he could still see the faint glitter of his eyes as he peered ahead of them, only this time Steven was too mesmerized by the boy beside him to look away. "... I didn't think you were going to come back," he admitted suddenly, and Steven just listened. "When they told me you were gone, that those aliens had taken you, I thought you were…"

He didn't finish. Steven opened his mouth to finish it for him, but he thought better of it after a moment. He just ducked his head again and snapped his mouth shut, keeping his gaze on Peedee as the boy tilted his head back, sighed, and turned his gaze back to the hybrid to offer him a mirthless, somewhat shaky smile. "It was weird. You just don't notice how much you miss until it's not there anymore. And thinking you were dead, that all that gem stuff finally caught up to you-" Peedee shook his head, tore his gaze away. His expression was pained, almost guilty. "When you told me your job was protecting humanity- protecting _us_ from- from all of that, I didn't- I never thought you meant _that._ I didn't think it could mean…" His words faltered, his _voice_ faltered, trailing off into a shaky sigh as he ducked his head again and closed his eyes.

"Peedee, I…" Steven started, quietly, but his words tapered off into the silence as well. He trailed for a moment, steps slowing as Peedee raised a hand to rub at his eyes, and breathed in softly through his teeth as he looked back up at the stars. Guilt churned in his gut, rolling through him mercilessly, tightening his chest and squeezing his throat until he felt like he was choking. Still, he managed to clear it just enough to speak again, a little quieter, "I'm sorry." He paused to breathe in again, this time a little steadier, and Peedee looked up to gawk at him.

"Sorry?" He repeated, eyes wide with disbelief. "You _saved everyone._ Why are you sorry?"

Steven raised a hand, gesturing toward the rest of the town. "I don't know what to do about any of this. I turned myself in to save everyone, but I didn't think about how you guys would feel."

"How we would f-" Peedee shook his head. "You…"

"I didn't mean to scare anyone, or… make anyone _upset,"_ Steven continued carefully. "But I did. I know I did. You, and the gems, and Connie, and my dad, and everyone that I left behind. And I don't know how to fix it. I don't know where to begin." He hesitated, swallowing, and sighed. "I-"

"You don't have to fix it!" Peedee sounded horrified. "That's not what I meant! Steven-" He reached out, his hand closing around Steven's wrist. The hybrid flinched despite himself, the contact more surprising than anything but still startling enough to make a painful, cold, stomach-churning, _heart-_ wrenching sensation flush straight through him. It vanished by the time Peedee swung him around to face him again, pulling the hybrid to a complete stop, though his heart was racing much faster now from the adrenaline, from the split second of fear that had crossed him. "I'm not mad at you, okay? I doubt you'll find anyone here who's _mad_ at you for-"

"I know," Steven interrupted, and swallowed past the lump in his throat that had grown a little too big now for his liking, blinking past the stinging sensation he was surprised to find building up. "I know nobody's mad at me. I know I don't have to fix anything. I know what I did was the right thing to do and I know that I'd do it again in a heartbeat if I had to." He paused to look down at Peedee's hand gripping his wrist, which had tightened considerably as he spoke. But it wasn't painful, not enough to warrant pulling away, so he just went on. "But I couldn't stand the thought of anyone getting taken away on that ship, Peedee. I couldn't stand the idea of losing anyone, of them being taken to Homeworld and me never seeing them again. But then I went and did the exact same thing to them - to all of you." He looked up, sucking in a shaky breath. "I made that choice thinking I'd be the only one paying the price, but I was wrong. You guys suffered for it."

"Not as much as you did," Peedee whispered, his gaze focusing just below Steven's eye to the scar that ran from his cheek to his chin, and Steven faltered. "Not nearly as much as you did."

Steven shook his head. "Physically," he murmured. "But emotionally?"

"And what about mentally?" Peedee challenged, bringing his eyes back up to Steven's again. The hybrid hesitated for a moment, then looked away, unable to hold his gaze. "Eight months, Steven. How many of those months did you not remember us? How long did it take them to break you that much? How much did they have to hurt you? What did they have to _do_ to…" He choked off, with a quiet, shuddering breath, and ducked his head. He still didn't let go yet.

"Peedee…" Steven's voice wavered a little more than he would have liked, but he made no attempt to stop it. Just shook his head, swallowed, and sighed. "Do you really wanna know?" He flicked his gaze up, finally, to meet Peedee's gaze again. "Is that something you can handle?"

" _You_ had to handle it," Peedee retorted, though his voice shook. " _Alone."_

Steven didn't say anything. Just swallowed again and breathed in, nodding slowly through the pain that was bursting through his chest, and closed his eyes as he struggled to remember. To remember when it had all changed, when Steven had finally given up, when Lapis had been… he couldn't finish the thought, couldn't even make himself want to remember, but he did. He remembered the escape attempt, remembered the bubble, the spikes, the gem shards, the pain that had exploded through him and then the numbness that had followed, the blankness. The way everything had just burned and spiraled and chipped away until there'd been nothing left.

Nothing but a soldier.

"Four months," he murmured. "Four months, exactly, I didn't remember." He forced his eyes open, forced himself to look back at Peedee. The hand on his wrist hadn't moved, fingers curling a little tighter now as the hybrid continued to speak. He thought about shifting a little, at least moving Peedee's grip, but he allowed it to remain for now. It was warm, almost comforting. Allowed him just enough calmness to continue. "What they did, it wasn't- it wasn't slow. I…" He trailed off for a moment, ducking his head as he thought about it. "I mean, it _was…_ it was brainwashing, it was torture. They locked me away for days, weeks, in a room with-" This, this was where he stopped. His voice hitched over the words, surprising him enough to fall silent.

Peedee stepped closer, and the almost vice-like grip on his wrist softened briefly, only to offer a tight squeeze before it relaxed again. Steven looked down at his hand for a moment, silent, then slowly lifted his gaze back up to the other boy's face, set in a determined, worried frown. Once Steven was content with the lack of uneasiness and discomfort, he forced himself to continue on. "They left me alone," he finally said, bluntly. "Sometimes in the dark, sometimes the lights would flicker. Like that." He turned his head toward one of the street lamps, watching the bulb inside flicker rapidly before it steadied again. "Just constantly. And there was this high-pitched buzzing sometimes, it kept me awake…" He trailed off, ducking his head again. "I didn't sleep. I didn't eat. Didn't drink. Sometimes I thought I was going to die, but I wasn't human enough."

A shaky inhale from Peedee drew his attention back to the human, and, finally hesitating, the hybrid began to pull his hand away. "Peedee, I- I don't- you don't have to listen to this."

"I want to," Peedee insisted. He grabbed for his hand again. "Did you tell _them_ this? All of it?"

"I tell them what they ask about," Steven replied quietly, letting him take his hand again reluctantly. This time Peedee's fingers curled around his own; Steven felt his heart stutter against his chest for a moment, chalking it up to the worry and the fear he was suddenly feeling. He didn't mind talking about this stuff. He'd answer whatever anyone asked him easily enough. But this was different. This was Peedee. Peedee, who never got involved in the gem stuff. Peedee, who Steven wasn't even sure he _wanted_ to. "I didn't tell them about the Room yet…"

"Tell me about it," Peedee requested, his voice barely more than a whisper now. "Please."

Steven did.

It took a few quiet reassurances, a few pauses to make sure Peedee really was okay with it. But once he got going, once he was sure he could, he let it spill out. He told Peedee about the Room, he explained the earrings and the limb enhancers, the punishments, the hallucinations. The things he was deprived of for so long. Peedee would squeeze his hand whenever he faltered, mumbling things under his breath in between sentences. He listened. He just listened.

Steven knew there was nothing he couldn't tell his family. And there wasn't anything he _wouldn't_ be okay with telling them at this point. But this, this was different in a scary sort of way.

He didn't reach the really bad parts yet. He didn't get to the destabilizers, the escape attempt, Lapis. He got to battle training, obedience training, Blue Diamond, before he finally stopped. There were some things he knew would be best told another time, maybe. He already felt like he'd spilled too much, dumped too much on the human. But Peedee had taken it better than expected, only cringing and looking visibly horrified a few times when Steven spoke. Other times, he managed to control his expression for the most part. Steven was rather impressed. Regardless, when Steven finally found himself stopping, Peedee offered his hand a light squeeze and the hybrid managed to offer him a hesitant, tired smile. "I think that's good enough," he murmured. "You don't have to hear all of it. Not tonight." Peedee didn't press him.

"I'm sorry…" His old friend trailed off and ducked his head with a sigh. He finally let go of his hand, and though the warmth lingered for a few seconds, Steven was left a little dismayed once it began to ebb away again, leaving him feeling cold, depraved. "That you went through all of…"

"I'm okay," Steven told him quietly. "I _will_ be okay."

Peedee glanced up at him, silent. But he smiled, hesitant, exhausted. Drained. Then, just as he opened his mouth to speak, he paused and glanced past Steven, and his eyes went wide.

Steven's training kicked into gear before he could stop himself. The bottle disappeared from his hands, bubbled and sent away, and a scythe replaced it at once as the hybrid whirled around. He heard Peedee gasp, left in shock for a few seconds before his old friend suddenly stammered, "wait, Steven, it's okay, don't-", but Steven had already seen the 'threat' quickly enough. Alarm melted away at once, the adrenaline coursing through him slowing slightly, the haze of protective anger and the preparation to fight stamped out immediately into surprise. Surprise, and then confusion, and then another flash of memories hit him as he stared at the little boy just ahead of them, the human - at least Steven thought he was human - that stood just a little taller than Steven remembered, but he recognized him. He knew him. _He was there._

"Onion," he gasped, the scythe diminishing immediately. " _Onion."_

The boy blinked once, wide-eyed, then ran forward. "Muh! Muh-muh!"

Steven caught him when he jumped up, surprised by the hug but warmed by it all the same. He hugged the younger kid back tightly, a wide smile spreading across his face. "Onion… hey…"

"Looks like he missed you," Peedee murmured.

"Muh!" Onion squeaked, pulling back. Agreement. Steven giggled and hugged him again, a little gentler this time, before finally reaching down to put him back on the ground. The boy jumped in place for a second, babbling unintelligibly but excitedly, then abruptly pointed to his gem. "Muh?"

"Hm?" Steven glanced down and blinked, then understood. "Oh. This?" He summoned the scythe carefully, holding it up out of reach - because a part of him, something in the back of his mind, understood it was probably not a good idea to let Onion get too close to it - but he kept it where they both could see it. Peedee circled around to stand in front of him again, staring at the weapon with wide eyes, and Onion's jaw dropped for a few seconds. Then he pointed at it and squeaked out another 'muh!' and Steven, with a chuckle, shook his head. "No. Sorry, buddy."

Onion continued to point for a moment with his mouth open, then frowned, pouted, and crossed his arms over his chest with a dejected 'muh'. Steven rolled his eyes, but he smiled regardless.

"Too sharp," Peedee said sympathetically, eyeing the weapon for a moment longer until Steven finally sent it away again, much to Onion's chagrin. Steven just grinned, brushing his hands off, and looked back down at the younger boy for a moment. He was somewhat surprised that he was speaking - well, 'speaking' - aloud, actually, with Peedee there. He'd only actually ever heard Onion make any noises a few times, but he preferred speaking with actions rather than words for the most part, only seeming to _talk_ when he felt like it was necessary. At least, he only _remembered_ a few times - but he was pretty sure talking was rare for the kid. Onion seemed to realize it too, because his eyes suddenly went wide when he looked toward Peedee, and his cheeks seemed to flush a little darker after that, rooting his gaze back to the boardwalk instead.

Peedee seemed to notice. He paused, smiled slightly at Steven, and made a point of checking his phone. "Ah, I should get home. I told my Dad I'd be back before they went to bed." He chuckled, stepping back, and Steven let out a soft hum and offered him a knowing grin. "But I'll see you around, Steven. Bye, Onion," he added, and Onion looked back up to wave, silent now.

"See you, Peedee," Steven called as the boy ran off, then looked back down at Onion curiously. The younger boy looked up at him and blinked, tilting his head to the side, and Steven smiled. "Hey." He crouched down carefully, more or less coming to Onion's height - still a little taller, but he did his best under the circumstances. Onion just stared back at him with wide eyes, silent. "How are you doing, little buddy? I missed you," he admitted quietly. "You were there when I…"

Onion's eyebrows creased together, concern flickering across his face. He stepped forward, hands folded together somewhat timidly in front of his chest, then pointed at Steven's face.

Steven reached up to feel the scar, then dropped his hand again. "Yeah, I know. I'm okay."

"Muh…" His voice was quieter, worried. Steven understood. He was different, it was scary. Probably even scarier to a little kid than it ever would be for anyone else. The hybrid rocked back a little before simply letting himself fall back to sit down on the boardwalk, sighing softly.

"I'm okay," he repeated gently. "I'm okay."

Onion didn't look convinced, and Steven didn't really blame him.

"Hey." Steven leaned forward a little, offering a small smile. "What're you doing out so late, huh? You should be in bed right about now," he commented, and the worry on Onion's face fizzled out to something a little more mischievous, something more familiar than the scared uncertainty. Steven grinned, briefly basking in his success, as he crossed his arms in his lap and eyed the kid. "Not causing trouble, are you?" He asked, and Onion, in typical Onion fashion, didn't reply. Just looked at him, smirked, and turned his head away again to look away. "Okay, Mr. Mystery."

Onion giggled, and Steven closed his eyes for a moment, content. Then, finally, taking a deep breath and letting it out in a slow, soft sigh, he blinked his eyes open again. "I should get going." He paused, looking back down at Onion for a moment, and offered him a smile. "You should too. Get back home before your mother rips the city apart looking for you." He paused for a moment, hesitating as he tried to remember her name. It was right there, just out of reach of his memory.

Onion sighed, then yawned and nodded, rubbing his eyes. Steven pushed himself back to his feet, but not before kneeling down to hug him again one last time. Onion hugged him back tight.

"I'll see you around." He paused, pulling back. "Stay _safe."_

Onion nodded, beamed, then gave him a pointed look. Steven chuckled. "I will, too." That seemed to satisfy the kid, because he nodded again and stepped back as Steven stood up. "Goodnight, Onion."

"Muh-muh!" Onion smiled up at him, startlingly innocent, then turned and ran off. Steven watched him until he disappeared from sight, until he was completely alone. Only then did he take a deep breath, tilt his head back slightly, and finally turn to make the walk back home.

He was more exhausted than he thought he'd be, and yet… oddly content at the same time.


	3. The Town

Slowly, very slowly, Steven put himself out there.

It was a rather tedious process, he had to admit that. Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl were there to support him every step of the way, but Greg was the next one to go with him when he announced he wanted to venture into town again. There were still things he was struggling to remember, faces he couldn't put names to, visions and flashes of memories he didn't understand. He was careful with each step he took, each person he re-introduced himself to. The first one, after Peedee and Ronaldo, Sadie and Onion, was Onion's… older brother? Steven believed that was the term, but he wasn't entirely sure. He didn't get the chance to ask. It was a quick meeting; it happened so fast he wasn't entirely sure how to react to it. He and Greg were simply trailing down the boardwalk, Steven rolling an apple around in his hands.

Pearl had given it to him that morning, and although he hadn't taken more than a few bites, he most certainly intended to. One bite was all it took for him to realize how different it was compared to the other foods on Earth; the taste was tolerable, ranging from sweet to bitter with each bite he took. It didn't hurt his tongue, didn't make his throat burn. Something he could _eat._

He was surprised, but delighted, when Onion ran up to him just as he had a few nights ago, and once again greeted the child by crouching down so that he could offer him a proper, warm hug.

"Hey, buddy," he chuckled, squeezing lightly, and pulled back to smile down at him.

Onion grinned at him, stepping back, then paused and swiveled his head around when a familiar voice called out. "Onion, you can't run off like that! Mom would kill me if I lost you…" The voice trailed for a second, and while Steven remained frozen for a second, more or less in surprise, he did slowly manage to snap his gaze up to see who was approaching them. He recognized the older boy walking up to them, but he couldn't put a name to his face just yet. He did, however, know two things; this was one of his old 'friends', and he was Onion's brother. "... again… _Steven?"_ The boy sounded shocked, confused, worried. Steven was used to that.

"Ah… yes." Steven hesitated, managing a nervous smile toward the boy as he pulled away from Onion completely to stand up. Greg had paused beside him, and while he didn't seem tense or worried about the boy approaching, he did look a little nervous, concerned. That alone was enough to put him on guard somewhat, but he was still rather sure the human wasn't a threat.

"You look…" The boy didn't finish immediately, eyes flicking in Greg's direction. Steven understood, but he only tugged his lips into hesitant, knowing smile as he flicked his gaze back down to Onion. The younger boy simply shrugged at him, managing to look somewhat amused. Steven looked back up when the older boy finally managed to find his voice and continue, albeit with great reluctance. "Uh, different. Are you okay, dude?" He stepped forward, a little closer. Onion didn't move away from Steven yet, but he craned his neck to smile back at the older boy before he turned back to the hybrid, who managed another hesitant smile in response, nodding.

"I'm fine," he assured, pausing. Hesitating. "Um…"

Greg's hand on his shoulder halted his words, and thank the stars for that. The hybrid fell silent at once, relieved, while his father spoke gently, "Steven, this is Sour Cream. Remember?"

Steven furrowed his eyebrows, silent for a moment, while the boy - Sour Cream - visibly paused and snapped his gaze back toward Greg. It didn't take too long for the understanding, the realization to set in, but by that point, yes, Steven had remembered, somewhat. He remembered Sour Cream and the other kids, the… the Cool Kids. Jenny, Buck…? He thought. He remembered going to Sour Cream's house, sitting with Sadie and the others while they sang songs and something about 'potluck' and 'paper plates' and… and Lars was supposed to be there, but he wasn't there, he hadn't been there, he hadn't been there because of _them,_ because that was when he'd gotten abducted, that was when the strange things happened.

That was when Steven had turned himself in. Yes, he remembered.

He brightened a little, though his excitement was tainted somewhat by the horrible memories of the night he'd been taken to Homeworld. "Sour Cream! Yeah, I remember you. And, um, Buck! And Jenny. The Cool Kids," he added quickly, and Sour Cream's expression lightened a little, but he still looked a little… anxious, to say the very least. Uneasy. Steven understood that - Peedee had been the same way at first. "Sorry, I- I've been having some, uh, memory issues."

"No, it's cool, man. I mean, not _cool_ , but… it's cool." Sour Cream paused, making a face at himself, and Steven couldn't help but laugh a little. Even Onion giggled slightly, ducking his head with a sigh and shaking his head in mock disappointment, prompting Sour Cream to reach down and scoop him into his arms. "Oh, hush. I know, it's funny, you're less socially awkward."

"Muh!"

"Yeah, only around Steven."

Steven couldn't help but smile at that, a little softer this time. He glanced back over at his father, who merely offered him a gentle smile before he turned back to the other two, excusing them both and keeping his hand on Steven's shoulder as he led the hybrid back down the boardwalk. Steven followed happily, grateful, honestly, to be able to get away right then. It was pretty anxiety inducing, especially considering he hadn't really known Sour Cream all that well, and the guy didn't really seem all too comfortable around him either yet. He knew why, he understood. He was different. This whole situation was different. Nobody really knew how to react to it yet. Not even Steven himself. The hybrid sighed, sinking sideways against his father. "That went…"

"Pretty well," Greg chided, and Steven nodded faintly, though he still couldn't shake the feeling that it maybe could have gone a little better. "Hey, don't worry about it, kiddo. It's gonna take some time for you to readjust… for everyone to readjust," his father added quietly, sighing. "Everyone missed you, you know. The whole town. Just let them get used to you again, huh?" Steven offered nothing more than a hum of agreement, and Greg ruffled his hair. "It's okay."

"I know, Dad." He leaned into the touch and smiled, taking another bite of his apple. "I know."

* * *

Next, came the whole Pizza family - which wasn't fun.

He'd gone with Amethyst to pick up a 'pizza', which he didn't intend on eating, but he'd wanted to come out to the town anyway. It was so quiet that day, quieter than usual, but he couldn't complain. He followed the purple gem into the shop, chuckling as Amethyst messed up his hair. Right, his hair - it was getting long again, he needed to cut it again soon. He made a mental note to do so as he followed Amethyst over to the counter, glancing around the shop briefly. This, he recognized. He recognized the smell, too, the food they were cooking, the pizza. He used to come in here all the time and eat, just like the donut shop. Now, however, his nose instinctively scrunched up at the smell, and he had to refrain from covering his face to stifle it.

A gasp drew his attention away, however, and it didn't take him long to swivel around to the source. His gem pulsed, a bright, brief, vibrant glow of pink, but he didn't summon his scythe. And that was a good thing, because they weren't in danger - quite the opposite, in fact. The moment his gaze rested on the girl on the other side of the counter, the memories flooded in. Memories of pizza, and dreams, _nightmares_ , falling asleep, helping Kiki with her issues with her sister - Jenny, Jenny was her sister - he remembered things, snippets, visions. He remembered.

"Steven!" Kiki exclaimed, wasting no time in stepping around the counter and running over to him. Steven couldn't react quick enough to open his arms and hug her, so when she reached him and managed to embrace him, he mostly ended up with his arms pinned at his sides. He winced as she squeezed him, though it didn't quite hurt. Uncomfortable? A little, but no pain.

"Hi Kiki," he breathed, a little shaken, "don't squish me please-"

"Sorry!" Kiki gasped, pulling back again. She paused to look him over, but continued speaking rapidly, quickly. "Sorry! I- _wow!_ Look at you, you're- you look bad! What happened to your face?"

Despite himself, Steven couldn't help but laugh. He winced a little again as he rolled his shoulders back, trying to fend off the stiffness in his muscles. He knew Kiki, trusted Kiki. And he loved being hugged. Of course, he loved being hugged when he could consent to being hugged - and he'd had very little time to react, much less consent to that - but it was fine. The lingering feeling dissolved quickly enough, his discomfort rapidly fading into excitement. "Wow, thanks."

Kiki paused, blinked, and winced apologetically. "Ooh, sorry. You know what I mean…"

"I know," Steven assured, sighing, and shook his head. "I know. It's okay. You're not wrong." He lifted a hand, somewhat unconsciously, to feel the scar on his face, then dropped it with a shrug. "You know… lots of stuff happened. I'm okay," he promised. "I mean, I'm back now. On Earth."

"Yeah, I heard those aliens took you…" Kiki began, only to be cut off.

"Is that Steven?"

"Steven?!"

" _Steven!"_

One, two, three; Steven startled, and rightfully so, as he caught sight of the people rapidly flooding the room from the doorway on the other side of the counter. Amethyst grimaced, threw him an apologetic look and shrugged, not even attempting to stop any of them as they filed around the counter and headed over to where Kiki and Steven were. The hybrid found himself stepping a little closer to the girl, but it didn't save him from the others. He recognized Jenny and the girls' father - but he couldn't remember his name - but he also recognized Nanafua. Ah, her, he knew. He hesitated, pulling his lips into a nervous smile, then sucked in a gasp when Nanafua suddenly stepped forward to grab him by the arms, pulling him into a _very_ tight hug.

"You're back!" She exclaimed. "We thought you were-"

"Dead," Jenny and Kiki's father interrupted, sounding shocked.

"I-" Steven stumbled over his words, stammering as he fought to spit them out, while Nanafua pushed him back a little but kept a steady grip on his arms, looking him up and down.

"Look at you, you're skin and bone!"

The hybrid swallowed, chest tightening, fighting to stave off the anxiety seizing his gut. "I-"

"Hey, don't crowd him," Amethyst warned. "He-"

They drowned her voice out until even Steven couldn't hear her anymore, until all he could hear was the four of them, crowding him, surrounding him, trapping him. Nanafua's grip on his arms suddenly felt tighter than it was, he felt cornered, this was wrong, he didn't feel _safe right now-_

" _Mo-o-om_ , of course he's skin and bone! He got taken by those gem aliens, they don't _eat!"_

Steven took in a breath, exhaling shakily. "Um, can you…"

"Oh _god_ , Dad, you think they starved him?!"

"I mean, he's _alive-"_

"I just need some space-" Steven mumbled, squeezing his eyes shut.

"What's that?"

"He said 'space'. They took him to space. What kind of food do you think they have in space?"

"It doesn't matter," Nanafua interrupted, "he clearly needs-"

"Just-!" Nerves frayed, tension building, anxiety at its peak, Steven couldn't take it anymore. He jerked sharply against Nanafua's grip, resisting the urge to summon his shield or his bubble to fight her off. He knew this wasn't a fight, wasn't an attack, but his heart was racing and his adrenaline was _so fucking high_ and everyone was so close to him and he couldn't think, couldn't breathe, and Steven couldn't take it. He couldn't deal with that. He didn't _like this._ " _Let me go!"_

Stunned silence followed as the four retreated, and it didn't take long for Amethyst to reach his side, as if she'd been trying to get to him the whole time, just waiting for an opening. He was grateful that she didn't try to touch him right then - everything was buzzing, his skin was tingling and it was too overwhelming for him to be able to focus - but she got close enough to him for her voice to be able to break through the panicked static that had engulfed his mind right then. "Hey, hey, it's okay. You're okay, calm down, you're safe," she soothed, and the hybrid shook his head - not in disagreement, just an attempt to shake away some of the tension - and squeezed his eyes shut as tight as he could. "You're okay, little man. Don't worry." To the others, she added, "you guys don't worry either, you just overwhelmed him. He's okay. Just… be careful."

"I'm sorry," Steven breathed, eyes still shut, and winced a little when the four of them immediately rushed to reassure him; 'No, it's okay!' 'We get it!' 'We didn't mean to-'

"Enough," Kofi silenced them, "you're making it worse. See?"

The hybrid ducked his head, digging his nails into his palms, and took another shaky breath to steady himself before finally forcing his eyes open. He looked at Amethyst first, meeting the purple gem's watchful, intense gaze, and offered a faint nod to let her know that he was okay. Well, not 'okay', but he wasn't dying or anything, he wasn't hurt, he was just… stressed out. Really, really stressed out. Amethyst took that as a cue to finally move close enough to touch, reaching out to wrap a gentle hand around his arm, and the hybrid hesitantly relaxed into her.

"I'm sorry, Steven," Nanafua said immediately. "I didn't realize…"

"It's okay," the hybrid whispered, shaking his head slightly. "It's okay. I know."

"Let's just get the pizza and go home, 'kay?" Amethyst reached around to rub his back lightly, and the hybrid was too exhausted to argue, too worn out by his own sudden outburst and the completely overwhelming emotions and helplessness that had engulfed him. So he merely nodded, as Amethyst turned away to tell them what kind of pizza she wanted, and the other four dispersed with hesitant glances back at him. Later, he'd come back, he'd explain things.

Right now, though, he needed to get away.

Baby steps.

* * *

And, eventually, _with_ baby steps, he finally managed to settle again.

It took a few weeks, almost a whole month, before he could force himself to venture out into the city again. He went back to the pizza shop, cleared things up there. He met Buck, who didn't say much, and Steven couldn't really see his eyes when he looked at him because of his sunglasses, but he _did_ actually compliment the scar, saying it was 'cool' and 'chicks dig them', and Steven couldn't help but laugh a little despite himself. But he took the compliment graciously and pushed further onwards, because that was all he could do. Just keep going. Baby steps, of course; a few citizens at a time, he immersed himself back into the human world, back into Beach City. He met Mr. Smiley again. Suitcase Sam. He tried to stay away from Ronaldo for the most part, but he was happy to let Peedee re-introduce him to Mr. Fryman too.

It was a slow process, a delicate process. Everything was so different in Beach City - or maybe it was just him that was different, he wasn't sure. Everyone looked at him funny now, looked at him like they didn't really know him, and he couldn't say he blamed them. He wasn't the same. Whatever, whoever he was before Homeworld, he wasn't the same. He couldn't make himself try to be; he couldn't force himself to try to be what they knew him as. He just hoped that, in time, they'd get used to the new him. And that he could get used to everything else again too.

He learned some new things about the town, too.

Like how Nanafua was the mayor of Beach City now. Mayor Dewey - well, more fittingly now, 'Bill' - had lost the election to her not too long after Steven had been taken. He learned that she'd started drilling the whole town, preparing for more invasions, practicing what to do in case the gems ever came back. To be completely honest, he was impressed with that in particular. He knew it was bound to come in handy someday, and probably someday soon at that.

And he wasn't the only one getting settled. Once he became a little more comfortable with the town again, Berry started joining him out and about on his routine walks around the town. Funland fascinated her, and while she never played any of the games there, Lemon Lime and Candy were happy to take time off of training to come and relax. Berry more so preferred to spend her time simply observing the humans. She and Nanafua got along pretty well; Berry didn't seem to like the Cool Kids all that much - at the very least she just wasn't interested - but she also took somewhat of a liking to Kiki (but she and Kofi butted heads more often than not.)

Lemon Lime became a town favorite pretty quickly. The Cool Kids practically took an immediate liking to him - which was why Steven figured Berry eventually stopped glaring at them so much.

Candy seemed more intrigued with Jamie. Steven had recognized him immediately, one of the humans that had been there the night he'd been taken. He was… kind of fun, actually. Dramatic, but fun. At one point, Lemon Lime, the Cool Kids, Candy and Jamie started making plans for some sort of 'talent show/welcome back/welcome to Earth party', which Steven stayed out of. He was getting there. A party sounded overwhelming, but he wouldn't pass it up either.

Tangerine and Clementine were slower to put themselves out there, but once they did, they both formed an immediate attachment to the Pizza family. Tangerine stuck with Nanafua for the most part, seeming absolutely fascinated by the smaller, older human. Clementine and Jenny got along - but as much as Clementine liked the Pizzas, she liked Onion's family even more. She'd come with Steven whenever the hybrid went to visit Onion, and she'd help Vidalia run errands while the hybrid stayed behind to babysit. It was nice to see the Jaspers somewhat happy again, nice to see the gems putting themselves out there. It was nice watching two different worlds collide, and adapt without a second thought. It was nice. It made him… hopeful.

Finally, he was ready to greet the town with open arms. And the town welcomed him back all the same.

(And each day served to remind him why he chose to stay on that ship.)


End file.
